Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
ATI HD 5850 vs AMD R7 250
Combined performance score
HD 5850 outperforms R7 250 by 85% in our combined benchmark results.
General info
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
Place in performance ranking | 758 | 583 |
Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
Value for money | 0.10 | 0.78 |
Architecture | GCN (2011−2017) | Terascale 2 (2009−2015) |
GPU code name | Oland XT | Cypress |
Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
Design | reference | no data |
Release date | 1 October 2013 (10 years old) | 30 September 2009 (14 years old) |
Launch price (MSRP) | $89 | $299 |
Current price | $256 (2.9x MSRP) | $120 (0.4x MSRP) |
ATI HD 5850 has 680% better value for money than R7 250.
Technical specs
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
Pipelines / CUDA cores | 384 | 1440 |
Core clock speed | no data | 725 MHz |
Boost clock speed | 1050 MHz | no data |
Number of transistors | 950 million | 2,154 million |
Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 40 nm |
Power consumption (TDP) | 75 Watt | 151 Watt |
Texture fill rate | 25.20 | 52.20 |
Floating-point performance | 716.8 gflops | 2,088.0 gflops |
Size and compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
Bus support | PCIe 3.0 | no data |
Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
Length | 168 mm | 241 mm |
Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
Supplementary power connectors | N/A | 2x 6-pin |
Memory
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
Memory type | DDR3, GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 1 GB |
Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 256 Bit |
Memory clock speed | 1150 MHz | 2000 MHz |
Memory bandwidth | 72 GB/s | 128.0 GB/s |
Shared memory | - | no data |
Video outputs and ports
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x VGA | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort |
HDMI | + | + |
DisplayPort support | - | no data |
Technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
AppAcceleration | + | no data |
CrossFire | 1 | no data |
Enduro | - | no data |
FreeSync | 1 | no data |
HD3D | - | no data |
PowerTune | - | no data |
TrueAudio | - | no data |
ZeroCore | - | no data |
DDMA audio | + | no data |
API support
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
DirectX | DirectX® 12 | 11.2 (11_0) |
Shader Model | 5.1 | 5.0 |
OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.4 |
OpenCL | 1.2 | 1.2 |
Vulkan | no data | N/A |
Mantle | - | no data |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
HD 5850 outperforms R7 250 by 85% in our combined benchmark results.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
HD 5850 outperforms R7 250 by 85% in Passmark.
3DMark Vantage Performance
3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
HD 5850 outperforms R7 250 by 5% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.
3DMark 11 Performance GPU
3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
HD 5850 outperforms R7 250 by 23% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Average FPS across all PC games
Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:
900p | 30−35
−96.7%
| 59
+96.7%
|
Full HD | 19
−200%
| 57
+200%
|
Performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
−50%
|
9−10
+50%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 4−5
−150%
|
10−11
+150%
|
Battlefield 5 | 6−7
−150%
|
14−16
+150%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 12−14
−33.3%
|
16−18
+33.3%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
−50%
|
9−10
+50%
|
Far Cry 5 | 4−5
−175%
|
10−12
+175%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 4−5
−175%
|
10−12
+175%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 7−8
−143%
|
16−18
+143%
|
Hitman 3 | 5−6
−140%
|
12−14
+140%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 4−5
−150%
|
10−11
+150%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
−66.7%
|
10−11
+66.7%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 9−10
−44.4%
|
12−14
+44.4%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 1−2
−600%
|
7−8
+600%
|
Full HD
High Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 4−5
−150%
|
10−11
+150%
|
Battlefield 5 | 6−7
−150%
|
14−16
+150%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 12−14
−33.3%
|
16−18
+33.3%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
−50%
|
9−10
+50%
|
Far Cry 5 | 4−5
−175%
|
10−12
+175%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 4−5
−175%
|
10−12
+175%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 7−8
−143%
|
16−18
+143%
|
Hitman 3 | 5−6
−140%
|
12−14
+140%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 4−5
−150%
|
10−11
+150%
|
Metro Exodus | 4−5
−75%
|
7−8
+75%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
−66.7%
|
10−11
+66.7%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 9−10
−44.4%
|
12−14
+44.4%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 7−8
−57.1%
|
10−12
+57.1%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 1−2
−600%
|
7−8
+600%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 4−5
−150%
|
10−11
+150%
|
Battlefield 5 | 6−7
−150%
|
14−16
+150%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
−50%
|
9−10
+50%
|
Far Cry 5 | 4−5
−175%
|
10−12
+175%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 4−5
−175%
|
10−12
+175%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 7−8
−143%
|
16−18
+143%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 7−8
−57.1%
|
10−12
+57.1%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 1−2
−600%
|
7−8
+600%
|
1440p
High Preset
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 5−6
−60%
|
8−9
+60%
|
Hitman 3 | 6−7
−50%
|
9−10
+50%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 10−11
−20%
|
12−14
+20%
|
Metro Exodus | 1−2
−200%
|
3−4
+200%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1−2
−200%
|
3−4
+200%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 6−7
−33.3%
|
8−9
+33.3%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 0−1 | 3−4 |
Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 4−5
−100%
|
8−9
+100%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 1−2
−600%
|
7−8
+600%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 3−4
−66.7%
|
5−6
+66.7%
|
4K
High Preset
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2−3
−100%
|
4−5
+100%
|
Hitman 3 | 3−4
−66.7%
|
5−6
+66.7%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1−2
−200%
|
3−4
+200%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2
−200%
|
3−4
+200%
|
Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 0−1 | 0−1 |
Far Cry 5 | 4−5
−25%
|
5−6
+25%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 6−7
−16.7%
|
7−8
+16.7%
|
This is how R7 250 and ATI HD 5850 compete in popular games:
900p resolution:
- ATI HD 5850 is 96.7% faster than R7 250
1080p resolution:
- ATI HD 5850 is 200% faster than R7 250
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the ATI HD 5850 is 600% faster than the R7 250.
All in all, in popular games:
- ATI HD 5850 is ahead in 51 test (96%)
- there's a draw in 2 tests (4%)
Advantages and disadvantages
Performance score | 2.78 | 5.13 |
Recency | 1 October 2013 | 30 September 2009 |
Cost | $89 | $299 |
Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 1 GB |
Chip lithography | 28 nm | 40 nm |
Power consumption (TDP) | 75 Watt | 151 Watt |
The Radeon HD 5850 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R7 250 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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